I never did trust 401Ks and IRAs

The U.S. Treasury and Labor Departments will ask for public comment as soon as next week on ways to promote the conversion of 401(k) savings and Individual Retirement Accounts into annuities or other steady payment streams, according to Assistant Labor Secretary Phyllis C. Borzi and Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Mark Iwry, who are spearheading the effort.

I always suspected that a big pool of untaxed money would be too tempting.

6 Responses to I never did trust 401Ks and IRAs

Oh man, that’s sneaky. So, I just read that article, right? They’re not going to try and tax 401(k) and IRA accounts, because that would raise too much of an outcry. What they’re trying to do is figure out a way to get people to cash out their 401k plans into annuities, because the income you receive from an annuity is taxable. Man, that is fucking dirty. I sell annuities…well, I could sell annuities if they weren’t terrible, awful products.

Seriously people, don’t ever cash your 401k out for an annuity. When it’s time to take that money, you take it and put it in another interest bearing account, preferably something that grows tax deferred.

The Feds are going to be hard pressed to find anyone that will buy those things now that China isn’t. Forcing retirement accounts into government “securities” is an old banana republic trick. They’ll offer the option first then slowly tighten the screws. Pressure will be increased to convert voluntarily then a law will be passed where all NEW retirement accounts have to be in Government Bonds, because you can’t trust the stock market after all. It’s for your own good. Then the last step is forcible conversion of all retirement accounts.

IRAs and KEOGHs(sp?) were touted early on as tax free ways of saving for retirement. Then after a few years, the .gov started making noises about taxing them, and the owners began dumping them, causing the banksters to tell their tarined seals in .gov to back off. Now, the accounts are too full and are too necessary for that trick to work again.
Just a matter of time.